I am going to go and look around at a bunch of cars here pretty soon. Sentra, Corolla, Camry, Accord, Civic, Fusion, Fiesta, Fit, and a couple others I am forgetting. I still think a used Prius is looking pretty good and from the few people who actually have first hand experience, they sound like a good A to B car.

If you are serious about getting a used one. Do your self one thing look for any damage under the hood. I have seen way to many of them that have front end damage (which should have totaled the car BTW) come in to the shop and have issues.

Look for the vin stickers on the fenders and hood. If they are not there run. Thease cars have a tendency to nose dive when braking hard. When this is done the wieght of the rear witht he battery rises and carries the car further than it should and slams into the object in front of it usually taking out the hood, headlights, fenders, radiator and core support. Also there is a vin stamped into the core support. Check for that as well since that the new ones will not have to numbers stamped in it. Propper rear brake adjustment on the rear brakes will help prevent this issue.

If you do get one be very carefull not to hit curbs or rest on them. Thease cars loose their alignment very easily and will destroy tires. Trust me I know. I have seen them go in as little as 18k miles. Also what ever the sticker states go about 4psi higher. this will give a better tire wear pattern. Most tires that I have replaced have been due to poor out side tire wear while the center is still fairly good. Proper inflation, slow accelration and deceleration, and regular rotation is the key to long life of thease tires.

The intake manifold below the throttle body will get oil and carbon build up in it as well. Keep and eye on it. I have seen it get dirty as fast as 20k. It all depends on how hard you drive the car.

Also the dash has a tendency to be a rattle trap. I have had to remove many dash pads and foam kit it to prevent a rattle only to induce a new one. The customer never understands this.

As mentioned earlier that the inverter coolant pump (diverter valve I think) goes bad. If you dont get a light for it and it wearing out slowly you will fry the inverter.

Also the NAVI and headunits like to go out as well.

I know I will be bashed by 18psi since I don't have one and never have but thease are my personal experiances with them on a daily basis for 4 years while working at a Toyota dealership as a mechanic. Out side of all that they are very good cars and will last. I would never own one unless some one gave it to me. Even then I would only own it long enough to sell it. Which hopefull would not be too long.

Have a great day,
Jared

P.S. My buddy loves his Yaris. He says it's a great daily and even better on gas on top of that its half the price and wont have to deal with the above.

never understand about Jetta TDI. every tests by magazines have shown its mpg is not even close to Prius. Jetta TDI is the same dimension as a Corolla and gets the SAME mileage. I will get you the links for those less informed if you must. AND diesel is more expensive than regular. Jetta TDI is probably one of most over-rated car on internet. few have driven it, but somehow the mpg myth never dies.

One of the reasons I don't like jetta tdi myself so much is because a good friend of mine had one (mark4) and had nothing but problems with it. Too much **** to list, he was ready to drive it off a cliff when he finally traded it in.

I honestly don't know why people here love them so much. Maybe their experience (or for most LACK THEREOF) with them differed greatly from my friends.

The worst mileage I've been able to squeeze out of mine was 33, driving like a maniac to and from post in Texas. The TDi is fun to drive in its own way, that low-end torque is not something I'm used to getting from any 4-cylinder.. and it's not terrible at handling, either. Can't say either about a Prius.

I guess I look at the Prius as being an appliance, where the TDi is still a car.

F that Prius. I was behind one today and was almost late for work. So now I really hate them even more. If you wanna drive something gay like that, buy one of those For Two smart cars or whatever they are. I watched a guy maneuver one of those things in and out of cars like it was a crotch rocket.

Ummm, no... Those things are piles of ****. No power, no handling, no comfort, no space, no safety, not even that good on fuel economy for all the trade offs. My friends future wife drives one and with only 15k miles, its already falling apart. Rattles, squeaks, and a trans that is already crapping out. Aside from those legit reasons, I ******* HATE THEM! They are retarded for 99% of the roads in America. In an old European city with narrow roads and a short commute, I can sort of understand. But here, with high speed highways and longer commutes... stupid.